Astronomy

Astronomy is the science of everything beyond our planet: the Moon, the Sun, the planets, the stars and the galaxies. Stargazing is the hands-on side of it, where you look up at the night sky, with your own eyes or through binoculars and telescopes, to spot and name what's there. It's one of the oldest sciences, and it still sparks huge questions for all ages.

The Moon is the best place to start. Even a small telescope shows its giant craters and mountains in amazing detail.

When they're in the night sky, planets are a real treat. Jupiter often appears with a neat line of tiny moons beside it, and Saturn's rings are a sight nobody forgets.

Look further and you reach the stars, star clusters and other galaxies. On a clear, dark night you can make out the misty band of the Milky Way, the galaxy we live in. A good telescope can even pick out distant galaxies that look like faint smudges of light, each one made of billions of stars.

A refractor uses lenses to gather light. It's the classic long tube with an eyepiece at the end. A reflector uses curved mirrors instead, which makes it easier to build a big telescope that can see fainter things. Many modern telescopes sit on computer-controlled mounts, which find a chosen object and then slowly move to follow it as the Earth turns.

Yes, it's full of wow moments. Children love seeing the Moon's craters up close or spotting a planet for the very first time, and the questions come thick and fast. Your Activity Leader points out what to look for and helps everyone take a turn at the eyepiece. Keep your eyes open for shooting stars too. They're really tiny bits of space dust burning up as they hit our atmosphere.

Nights can get chilly, even in summer, so wrap up warm in layers. Bring a torch for walking there and back in the dark, and keep it pointed at the ground near the telescopes. Your eyes take a while to adjust to the dark, so try not to look at bright screens while you're stargazing.

You might also like Space Science, Explosive Science and Orienteering.

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